By Jorge Casuso

December 18, 2025 -- The scant information available pinpointing Nick Reiner's whereabouts after allegedly murdering his parents indicates he may have spent much of the day in Santa Monica.

So far, authorities have released few details about the murder of prominent Hollywood producer Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Simpson Reiner, 70, from "multiple sharp force injuries" in their Brentwood mansion, according to the County Coroner.

 

 

Surveillance footage shows the couple's 32-year-old son, Nick, walking in the direction of the beach city a few blocks away before checking into a hotel one block from the Santa Monica Pier at around 4 a.m.

Some 15 hours later, a second video shows LAPD officers arresting Nick Reiner at around 9:15 p.m. not far from the Expo Park/USC station some 20 miles from the end-of-the-line station in Downtown Santa Monica.

What happened during the approximately 19 hours between the two videos has led to much speculation based mostly on anonymous sources.

Given the suspect's long addiction to dangerous drugs and unstable mental state, law enforcement experts caution against trying to predict what Nick Reiner, who had a history of living on the streets, might have done after killing his parents.

"You can't attribute any logical behavior to him," said Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts, Jr., who was Santa Monica's police chief from 1991 to 2006.

"He allegedly killed both of his parents," Butts said. "There's no plan. He's totaly erratic."

Police have not released an estimated time the killling took place, but there has been widespread speculattion it occured in the early hours of Sunday.

Surveillance footage taken near the Brentwood-Santa Monica border with a 12:15 a.m. time stamp shows Reiner dressed in blue jeans, a long-sleeve blue shirt, a baseball cap and black sneakers carrying what appears to be a black backpack.

His clothes look clean, and he appears calm as he walks past a gas station in the direction of the Brentwood Country Mart on San Vicente Boulevard in Santa Monica.

No other surveillance footage taken in Santa Monica has been aired or posted online, although additional videos could likely have been taken showing Reiner's movements in the beach city.

The Santa Monica Police Department has "significantly improved the video capabilities over the past year" along major streets, a police source told The Lookout.

"So if he's walking or driving, there's going to be a fair amount of video," the source said, noting that LAPD is investigating the murder that took place some five blocks outside Santa Monica's border.

Some four hours later, at approximately 4 a.m., Nick Reiner checked into The Pierside Santa Monica hotel with a credit card and reserved a room for the night but never formally checked out.

Eyewitnesses told a celebrity and entertainment news source, TMZ, that Reiner appeared “tweaked out” at check-in, but noted "there were no visible signs of injury or blood on his body at the time."

Later Sunday morning, when staff entered Reiner's room they "allegedly discovered a disturbing scene," TMZ reported.

"Sources claim the shower was 'full of blood,' with additional blood found on the bed. Bed sheets were also reportedly used to cover the room’s window."

The Economic Times reported Tuesday that police have not released forensic results from the room or "stated whether the blood matches Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner."

For the rest of the day before his arrest near the Expo/USC train terminal there has been no other evidence released indicating Reiner's whereabouts.

The Pierside Hotel at 120 Colorado Avenue is a few blocks from the Expo train station on Fourth Street and Colorado Avenue and across the 10 Freeway overpass from Tongva Park across from City Hall.

The park has been known as a hangout for the homeless and the site of drug dealing and several stabbings over the past six years, including one that was fatal in 2019.

In a 2016 interview, Nick Reiner told People magazine that he had been homeless several times after he refused to go back into rehab, where he was sent 17 times before Sunday's arrest.

“I was homeless in Maine," Reiner said. "I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas. I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.

“If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,” Reiner said.

Shortly after 9 p.m., surveillance footage shows Reiner entering a gas station near the Expo/USC terminal, which is located near the entrances to Exposition Park and USC.

He is shown walking around the store, this time wearing a sweater with white stripes and carrying a red backpack, before paying for a drink and crossing the street toward the nearby Expo station.

At around 9:15 p.m., surveillance footage shows at least four emergency patrol vehicles surround Reiner with their lights flashing as the suspect raises his hands and is arrested.

Reiner was booked for murder and remains in custody with no bail.

On Wednesday, Reiner appeared in court wearing a blue suicide prevention vest and shackles to face charges that he committed two counts of murder with the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders.

He was also faces a special allegation that he personally used a dangerous and deadly weapon, a knife.

In his first appearance in court, Reiner told the judge he would waive his right to enter a plea. His arraignment is scheduled for January 7.

If convicted as charged, Reiner faces death or life in state prison without the possibility of parole, the DA's Office said. "A decision on whether to seek the death penalty will be made at a later date."